Israeli far right rejects plan for a long pause in Gaza war: Report

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convene the cabinet, amid growing reports that Hamas and Israel have agreed on the contours of a pause that would see the fighting in Gaza stop for a month as part of a hostage-release deal.

"Stopping the war at such a sensitive stage, security-wise and politically, could endanger the whole system," Smotrich said, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz. 

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on X that he is "in favour of returning the hostages, and against a bad deal".